


The Real Beast

by AbigailPickardWrites



Series: Here's to the Villains [6]
Category: Beauty and the Beast - All Media Types
Genre: Beauty and the Beast- Freeform, Dark Fairy Tale Elements, Disney, Fairy Tale Retellings, Redemption, Short Story, Villains
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:05:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27440131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbigailPickardWrites/pseuds/AbigailPickardWrites
Summary: Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)'s story, humanized and explained
Series: Here's to the Villains [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2004667





	The Real Beast

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Tragic romance, manipulation, blackmail, violence, major character death, 18th-century handling of mental illness, mobs, societal pressures, blood

I never meant for his life to go the way it did. When I was younger, I was about as friendly as any person could be. Heavily involved in helping the poor of the community, I was a model citizen. Once, for my birthday, I sold all of my gifts and gave the money to the children in need in my village. But things started to go wrong as soon as I fell for Belle. The girl was beautiful. A bit strange, perhaps, but beautiful and intelligent. Desperate for her to like me back and terribly afraid of rejection, I asked a friend for advice on how to woo her. However, it seemed like my attempts didn't make any difference. Later, I realized that the friend also liked her and purposely ruined my chances, but nevertheless, Belle didn't return my affections. This may seem trivial, but my love for her was the root of all of my problems. If I had never loved her, Louis wouldn't have had any leverage on me. Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. My name is Gaston, and Louis made me do it.

My first meeting with Louis was a couple years ago, once I had fallen in love with Belle. At first, I thought he was just a hunter. He took me to his hunting lodge to show me his prizes. It made me sad to look at them, at the flickers of fear in their dead eyes. Hunting for sport was wrong, or so I thought at the time.

Louis was the definition of a man. He was big, burly, and brave. Me? I was an annoying boy that couldn't get a girlfriend. Louis listened to me go on and on about Belle, finally suggesting that I should be more manly. Louis had girls desperate to be his wife, and he said that Belle would fall for me if I was like him. Reluctantly, I went hunting with him. I was actually a pretty good hunter, and once I began to work out more, I went from scrawny and pathetic to a stud in a few months. Just as Louis had said, many girls wanted my attention. But not the one I wanted. Belle was just so smart and impressive, she intimidated me. So I talked a big game, putting an act on around her, but it wasn't working.

So I went back to Louis. This time, Louis told me I needed to be better. Yes, I was good looking and strong, but there were other guys like that in the village. I needed to be the best, so that Belle wouldn't fall for anyone else. I agreed and accepted his help when he trained me. Foolish? At the time, it didn't seem like it. It looked like he was just helping me get the girl. I couldn't have known that Louis was trying to build me into what he wanted me to be. I couldn't have known he was preparing me to do his bidding.

Soon, I was the best in town. Every single girl in that village (and some that weren't single) wished that they were with me, except one. Belle. The way she seemed to escape my god-like aura baffled me. I tried everything to get her to love me back, but it never worked. Then, one day, she went missing. One night, her father ran into the tavern.

"Gaston! She's missing! You have to help me, he took her!"

Panic swelled in my chest, but I tried to suppress it. Everyone was staring at me. "Who?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. But I knew who.

"Belle!"

The room seemed to swim before my eyes. Fear for her safety clouded my mind. I gulped, pushing my fear deep down in me. "Who took her?" If anything happened to her because I wasn't there to protect her, I would never forgive myself.

"A beast! A great, big, terrible beast!" The villagers started to laugh and mock him, but deep down, I felt a stir. Part of me believed him, even though it sounded crazy.

I considered the facts and was about to go see if I could find her when I felt an invisible hand on my shoulder. Not really, of course, it was just my mind. But I could have sworn I heard Louis, whispering, "She's fine, leave her be. Don't make them think that you're crazy and wreck everything you've done. Weakness will make you vulnerable..."

I should have ignored it. I should have just shook it off. I didn't. "You're crazy, Mauris!" I laughed at him. The villagers and I threw him out and went on to keep laughing and joking. As the tavern cleared out, I couldn't help but feel uneasy. "Nothing is wrong!" I told myself, "Belle is fine!" Even as I said it, I knew it wasn't true.

A few days later, Louis invited me over. When I showed up, I figured that it was no big deal, just a hunting trip or something, but that wasn't the case.

As I entered, the door slammed behind me. It was dim in his lodge that day, which was strange, but what really should have thrown me off was when Louis stepped out of the shadows with an evil look in his eyes.

"Gaston, glad you showed up," he murmured. The fire in the hearth was the only thing lighting the room, casting flickering shadows across the room.

I walked over to to the seat by the fire, shivering a bit. "It's cold in here. So, are we going hunting?"

Louis took the other chair and stared at me, unblinking. "No,"

"Well, what did you need me for?"

"Belle,"

I froze, head shooting up to make eye contact. "Is she okay? I knew there was something wrong!"

Louis smirked and chuckled a bit. He stood from the chair and paced around the room. An uneasy feeling came over me. Something was off about him, something... menacing. "Oh, Gaston, you are so gullible!" It was the kind of thing that you would say before laughing and confessing that it was a prank, that Belle was fine, that you just wanted to scare someone, but he didn't say that. He didn't say that at all. "All that time, you thought I was just trying to help you?"

"I- I don't understand..."

Suddenly, cool metal pressed against my neck. I wasn't armed, having no way to fight back. "Now here's what's going to happen," Louis said, pressing the blade more firmly against my throat, "you're going to do exactly as I say, or Belle will pay for your disobedience."

"What have you done with her?"  
Louis laughed again, right in my ear, "Well, if I told you that, it'd spoil the game. And we wouldn't want that, now would we?" The blade lashed out to slash my arm in an instant. I yelped and clutched the wound. Blood dripped through my fingertips, running down my arm.

"P- Please, just let her go..." I pleaded, biting back tears.

"Sorry, but I can't do that," Louis opened the door to the lodge, stopping in the doorway to turn back and say, "Your move." And then he was gone.

~+~

Louis's first task was simple enough. All I had to do was gain the village's trust. Knowing that it would lead to something bad, I tried to protest, but with Belle's life hanging in the balance, well...

So, I killed wild animals that tried to attack the village. My popularity grew and grew until the people would have done anything for me. It was a dangerous game, the game Louis was playing. His every move could shatter the board, and I couldn't allow that. To try to keep mayhem from spreading, I held on to what small amounts of power I could, making sure that the villagers could have an out if they wanted to. But the real problem was Belle. Where was she? If only I knew.

Louis' second task was strange. I had to get in contact with a man that ran an insane asylum. As odd as it sounded, I did it. The man's name was Monsieur D'Arque, and Louis wanted me to set up a meeting with him.

The third task went hand in hand with the second. However, it was dark and shady business. Louis told me to tell Monsieur D'Arque that Maurice, Belle's father, was crazy and needed to go to his asylum. That wasn't true, and neither was the cover story that Louis had developed. I was forced to tell Monsieur D'Arque (and Belle, when the time came), that Belle had to marry me or else her father would do to the asylum. Blackmail, that's what it was. Dirty, dark, devious blackmail. It was done, and Monsieur D'Arque was ready to come back at a moment's notice to put our plan in action.

The time for him to arrive came late on a Tuesday night. Belle had returned with her father, who was ill and injured. Louis had informed me that although she may seem free, she would die at a moment's notice. When I first saw her, I could also see a man in a tree with a bow, prepared to shoot her at any moment. There was no way out.

Louis' sick game drew near to the end. It was almost time to see who the winner was.

I knocked on her door once, twice, three times, before she opened it. She was in her usual blue dress, simple, but I thought it suited her. Her beautiful chocolate hair was pulled back, but it was messy, strands falling down over her hazel eyes. Those eyes seemed worried and tense. All I wanted to do was wrap my arms around her, hug her, and kiss her worries away. But I couldn't.

"Belle!" I greeted, strutting and acting arrogant, exactly as Louis commanded. "Where have you been?"

"Gaston!" she exclaimed, shutting the door a bit more. The light from the inside glowed a warm orange color, making her eyes seem to change color.

I pushed the door open, though Belle tried to get it further shut. Entering the main room, I started to look around. "Where is your father?"

She stepped in front of me, crossing her arms and glaring at me. Her defensive position made me falter and stop in my tracks. "Why?"

"Where is he?"

"Answer my question!"

"You answer mine!"

Silence fell as our eyes made harsh contact. A battle of wills powers, that's what the game had led to. Who would crack first?

Belle held my gaze for longer than I expected, but finally surrendered. "He's in the bedroom,"

Smiling at my victory, I started towards the room, preparing to take the old man to Monsieur D'Arque, who was gathering the villagers outside Belle's house, telling them that Mauris was crazy. Belle threw herself in front of the door. "Stop! Tell me why you want him!"

"Because he's mad! He needs to go to the insane asylum," It broke my heart to see her eyes water, filling with tears.

"No!" She protested, grabbing my arm as I reached for the door handle, "He's not crazy!"

My gaze darted to the window, where the archer still sat, ready to send an arrow through the open window. I had to do it. "I'll make a deal with you, Belle. Marry me, and your father can go free,"

Her eyes widened. Hatred flooded them and ran down her cheeks in hot tears. "You're horrible!"

My heart felt like it would burst, but I kept up my act. I pushed her out of the way and threw open the door, grabbing the sickly old man and dragging him through the house. Belle screamed at me to stop, tried to stop me, reached for her father, and sobbed, but I kept going. I couldn't let Louis kill her. Finally, I kicked open the door and brought Marius to the crowd. Monsieur D'Arque was standing on a crate, convincing the people of what we needed them to think.

"Gaston!" One of the villagers cried, "Is this true? Is what this outsider says true?"

"Yes! Mauris has gone crazy!" I handed Mauris to some strong villagers, who held him as I talked to the people. "Those of you who heard him raving in the tarvern about some beast holding Belle captive know it! Belle is right here!" I motioned to the sorrowful girl, staring at the dirt by the doorway. The people gasped, realizing that I was right.

"We need to get Mauris the proper care he needs," Monsieur D'Arque persuaded, placing a hand on Mauris' shoulder.

The people shouted in agreement, finally succumbing to our tricks. I swallowed hard, suppressing the urge to scream the truth out. Belle ran inside and returned an instant later. She was clutching a silver mirror in her hand, holding it so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Belle marched over to another crate and stood on it, holding the mirror tighter. "I can prove that my father isn't crazy. I really was captured by a beast and he held me prisoner. What my father says is true, so let him go!"

"She's as crazy as the old man!" Monsieur D'Arque shouted, grabbing her by the arm and starting to take her over to the cart. Belle fought, thrashing, until she broke free.

"Wait!" she held the mirror up above her head, saying, "Show me the Beast!" The mirror swirled and flickered. Suddenly, her tear stained face was not in the mirror, but the face of a monster. Great, furry, and growling. My heart felt like it stopped. She had been held captive by... that? Guilt tugged at my gut, telling me that it was my fault that I didn't believe Mauris and because I was too blind with love to see Louis for what he was until he had the love of my life in his clutches.

"There really is a beast! We need to kill it, or it'll come for us and Belle again! It will devour the children, kill us!" I told the people. The brave people in the village shouted their agreement, and the children sobbed into their mother's arms after seeing the image of the animal in Belle's mirror.

Belle's eyes widened and she ran to my side, grabbing my arm to stop me. "Gaston, no! He's loving and caring and sweet! He would never hurt anyone!"

I noticed a gash on her arm that had halfway healed. "Then what is this?" I asked, grabbing her arm and examining the injury.

"W- Well, that was before he grew to be kind. But he's good now!"

I shook my head, fire lighting in my eyes. No one hurt Belle. "Come on! Those of your brave enough, grab your weapons and torches! We will rid France of this beast once and for all!"

"Gaston, no," Belle begged, stepping in my way, "He's good!"

Something was off. Why would Belle defend the monster that kept her captive? Unless it was Stockholm Syndrome or brainwashing... I had to put her somewhere safe until I got back, somewhere where she couldn't stray and get into trouble. If her mind really was in a fragile state, I needed to keep her from leaving.

"Put her in the cart!" I said, "She's crazy!"

Belle shouted, kicked, and struggled, but the people holding her dragged her in anyway, slamming the door behind her. I could no longer see Louis with his bow in the trees, but that didn't matter. What really mattered was protecting Belle. If that monster was at Louis' command... Well, I found it easier not to think about that.

The march to the beast's castle was long, but we sang angry songs and waved our torches the whole way, ready to take down the animal in the palace's high towers. When we arrived, the men hoisted a log and knocked down the doors. Instantly, we were attacked by bewitched items from all around the house. I wasn't sure if anyone died or not because I was already running up the steps of the castle's highest tower to take on the beast. I found him in a dark room full of shredded paintings and cobwebs, hunched over a flower.

"There you are, beast," I snarled, drawing my knife. Hatred flooded my veins. How dare he hurt Belle? "So it's you that held her hostage for Louis."

The animal grinned maliciously, a wild look in his eyes. "Yes, it was me. Louis' plan was perfect... She took the bait, giving herself into my captivity. Slowly, I made her fall for me to keep her here, making up a dramatic story about a rose and my household objects."

"But your objects, they attacked us! They are alive! They are enchanted!"

"Yes," the beast chuckled, his amusement at my confusion growing, "but not in the way that I told Belle. Louis knew a sorcerer that turned normal items into living beings. There was no enchantress that cursed me. And, when Belle comes back to live in our false little world, the sorcerer will turn me into a human, secretly, and heal any wounds I suffer in our little tiff. Though I think you'll need more healing than I."

My mind was whirling, trying to figure out Louis' angle. "But why? Why did you need to make up such a crazy story?"

"Belle isn't stupid, she would be suspicious of this all without an explanation. She needed to stay in the dark. To this moment, she has no idea that I don't love her. She believed every word I said. Poor girl, it is a shame, really. Blinded by loneliness, she leaned on me without any fear. No hesitation, no caution, she just grew to love me."

"She loved you?" I felt my heart plummet, thinking of how heartbroken Belle would be when she found out the truth. In that moment, I didn't even care that she didn't love me back. All I knew was that she would be hurt.

The beast began pacing up and down the room, shaking his head so that stray fur floated down to the ground, resting on the marble floor. He stank like an animal that had been out in the rain, making me recoil and scrunch my nose in disgust. "What you did is sick. Why did you make her love you? What was the purpose?"

"Simple: so that she wouldn't want to leave. And to spite you."

"Why is Louis doing this?"

"You ask too many questions."

The beast roared and lunged at me, claws out and ready for the kill. Skilfully, I rolled aside, retrieving my knife from my belt. Steel and claw clashed as we fought, shifting from the dark room to the roof of the castle. Rain pounded down from the sky, running down my face. Difficulty, I fought on, ignoring the thunder and crackling lightning. We slid down the side of the castle's roof, my opponent's claws digging into the shingles on the high turret we were perched on, tearing them off. They clattered down and dropped off the side into the chasm below: open, dark, foggy, and ominous. The monstrosity shoved me down, pushing my head over the ledge. My knife slipped from my wet hands and disappeared into the abyss below.

Suddenly, just as I was about to lose, Belle's voice rang out. Her words sounded fearful and impossibly sad. "No! Don't kill him!"

I looked up to see the love of my life on the roof, clutching her cloak in the powerful wind and rain. Her eyes were wide as she looked at the scene with horror. She was stumbling her way toward us, clutching the roof tightly, blood dripping from the cuts the rough shingles had made on her delicate hands. The red quickly washed away in the rain, but more would come back as she advanced.

The beast looked up at her. "Belle? You came back?" Fake love was in his eyes, and real in hers as she looked at him.

"Of course I did, I love you!" She responded.

I ignored the scene playing out and focused on the beast I had to kill. Louis really was a master at this twisted game, and I was stuck in it. Now, I had to play my ace.

I got a dagger from my boot, as my previous knife had fallen off the roof when the beast had me pinned by the edge. Then, with all the strength I could muster, I stabbed him. He roared and swiped at the air, knocking me to the edge. Unable to stop it, I slid off the roof, grasping for a handhold. At the last second, my fingers found a ledge, but my body was dangling over the side.

From where I was I heard Belle sobbing over that animal, unbeknownst to all the evil inside his heart. Then, I looked just below me and to my right. There stood Louis, the real beast, in an open window, smirking at me. He raised a pistol and aimed it at my heart.

He grinned and laughed. "Game over, Gaston."

The winner and loser of the game stared at one another.

BANG!

And I toppled lifelessly down into that abyss that I feared, consumed by the mist, just a pawn in Louis game: expendable.


End file.
